Removing Duplicate Files

Over the years there have been several programs that will find duplicate
files. All mention the danger of deleting the wrong copies. However, I
have never seen any information on how to determine which copy to keep.

That is my question: How do I determine which file to keep? Is there a way
to do this or does this process rely strickly on experience and trial and
error? I am not qualified to use a trial and error process of elimination.

My hard drive has a great many duplicate files on it and this is no doubt
responsible for a lot of wasted space.

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On Wed, 02 Jun 2004 21:26:00 GMT, in
<IBrvc.648143$oR5.38136@pd7tw3no>
RBF scrawled:
>Hi,
>
>Over the years there have been several programs that will find duplicate
>files. All mention the danger of deleting the wrong copies. However, I
>have never seen any information on how to determine which copy to keep.
>
>That is my question: How do I determine which file to keep? Is there a way
>to do this or does this process rely strickly on experience and trial and
>error? I am not qualified to use a trial and error process of elimination.
>
>My hard drive has a great many duplicate files on it and this is no doubt
>responsible for a lot of wasted space.
>
>Your input would be appreciated. Thank you.
>

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I use System Mechanic for this and it has many options of file types to look
for, types to exclude etc. It also carries warnings and will mark system
essential duplicates. Here is an excerpt from SM Help files. Simple answer
is if you're unsure don't.

"Warning: Not all of the files that are found are candidates for removal. Be
sure to carefully scrutinize each set of duplicate files before making the
decision to remove any of them. It is always recommended that you have a
current backup of your system before performing any intensive operations
using the Duplicate Files tool.

When duplicate-candidate files have been found, the file inspection and
removal toolbar will appear above the area which lists the found files. This
toolbar has a number of functions that enable to you flexibly manipulate the
displayed files. The toolbar buttons and their functions are described
below:

Remove
Removing selected files

Note: Files marked that could be critical to your system are flagged by a
dialog box that appears during the removal process. Only remove these files
after a careful and thorough inspection.

If after removal there is only one file left in the duplicate group, the
corresponding group will be removed from view, leaving one existing master
file on your system.

QuickView

Select the button labeled QuickView to view the contents of a selected file
using the Windows application "QuickView", which is installed by default
under some versions of Windows.

Note: The QuickView option will not be visible on versions of Windows that
do not have QuickView installed.

If you do not have this application installed you can do so in the Windows
Control Panel by opening the option labeled Add/Remove Programs and
selecting the "Accessories" category on the Windows Setup tab.

"RBF" <> wrote in message
news:IBrvc.648143$oR5.38136@pd7tw3no...
> Hi,
>
> Over the years there have been several programs that will find duplicate
> files. All mention the danger of deleting the wrong copies. However, I
> have never seen any information on how to determine which copy to keep.
>
> That is my question: How do I determine which file to keep? Is there a
way
> to do this or does this process rely strickly on experience and trial and
> error? I am not qualified to use a trial and error process of
elimination.
>
> My hard drive has a great many duplicate files on it and this is no doubt
> responsible for a lot of wasted space.
>
> Your input would be appreciated. Thank you.
>
>

RBF wrote:
> Over the years there have been several programs that will find duplicate
> files. All mention the danger of deleting the wrong copies. However, I
> have never seen any information on how to determine which copy to keep.
>
> That is my question: How do I determine which file to keep? Is there a
way
> to do this or does this process rely strickly on experience and trial and
> error? I am not qualified to use a trial and error process of
elimination.
>
> My hard drive has a great many duplicate files on it and this is no doubt
> responsible for a lot of wasted space.
>
> Your input would be appreciated. Thank you.

When I first installed EasyCleaner, it found a WHOLE bunch of duplicate
files and I thought darn, let's get rid of those space wasting demons. So,
I deleted all of them. . .big, big, big, mistake. I had to do a systems
restore and it took me days to get back up to speed.

Martin, I had a look at your link showing amateur astronomers photographs.
While looking at the wonderful shot of the moon, I was amazed at the clarity
and detail of this shot. It made me wonder, if you used the most powerful
telescope available, how small an object could be identified from earth? I
know this question is nothing to do with this thread but I just had to ask
you. Hope you don't mind?
-------
"Martin R. Howell" <> wrote in message
news:x9svc.19392$...
> RBF wrote:
>
> > Over the years there have been several programs that will find duplicate
> > files. All mention the danger of deleting the wrong copies. However, I
> > have never seen any information on how to determine which copy to keep.
> >
> > That is my question: How do I determine which file to keep? Is there a
> way
> > to do this or does this process rely strickly on experience and trial
and
> > error? I am not qualified to use a trial and error process of
> elimination.
> >
> > My hard drive has a great many duplicate files on it and this is no
doubt
> > responsible for a lot of wasted space.
> >
> > Your input would be appreciated. Thank you.
>
>
> When I first installed EasyCleaner, it found a WHOLE bunch of duplicate
> files and I thought darn, let's get rid of those space wasting demons.
So,
> I deleted all of them. . .big, big, big, mistake. I had to do a systems
> restore and it took me days to get back up to speed.
>
> --
> Martin
> "Photographs From the Universe of Amateur Astronomy"
> http://home.earthlink.net/~martinhowell
>
>

Thank you all for your help.
------------------------------------------------------
"RBF" <> wrote in message
news:IBrvc.648143$oR5.38136@pd7tw3no...
> Hi,
>
> Over the years there have been several programs that will find duplicate
> files. All mention the danger of deleting the wrong copies. However, I
> have never seen any information on how to determine which copy to keep.
>
> That is my question: How do I determine which file to keep? Is there a
way
> to do this or does this process rely strickly on experience and trial and
> error? I am not qualified to use a trial and error process of
elimination.
>
> My hard drive has a great many duplicate files on it and this is no doubt
> responsible for a lot of wasted space.
>
> Your input would be appreciated. Thank you.
>
>

Scottie wrote:
> Martin, I had a look at your link showing amateur astronomers photographs.
> While looking at the wonderful shot of the moon, I was amazed at the
clarity
> and detail of this shot. It made me wonder, if you used the most powerful
> telescope available, how small an object could be identified from earth? I
> know this question is nothing to do with this thread but I just had to ask
> you. Hope you don't mind?

The maximum usable power for a telescope based on Earth is limited by a
number of factors, the most significant of which is our dirty and unstable
atmosphere. Therefore, no matter how large the telescope is, occasions when
magnifications over 500x can be beneficially employed are rare. Even then,
perhaps 700x to 800x is the maximum which can be used without "seeing
conditions," no matter how good, getting in the way.

A scope's resolution is another significant factor and this is directly
proportional to the diameter of the primary lens or mirror. My main
telescope has a 12.5 inch diameter primary mirror and with it, under good
conditions and at a power of 400x or so, lunar objects of a thousand feet
across are visible although things this small don't show much detail. They
just *show* ;o)

It is not possible to see debris or flags or other remnants left on the moon
by the missions of last century through any telescope based on earth -- no
matter how large the scope may be.

Over the years there have been several programs that will find duplicate
files. All mention the danger of deleting the wrong copies. However, I
have never seen any information on how to determine which copy to keep.

That is my question: How do I determine which file to keep? Is there a way
to do this or does this process rely strickly on experience and trial and
error? I am not qualified to use a trial and error process of elimination.

My hard drive has a great many duplicate files on it and this is no doubt
responsible for a lot of wasted space.

Your input would be appreciated. Thank you.

Click to expand...

I think i understand your problem,low disk space may cause even when your drives have many duplicates and deleting duplicate may result you to recover vasted disk space, when i was scanning my system to delete duplicate files, i use duplicate finder 2009 and i think it may solve your problem, it has a great features like instant preview that allow you to select the file before deleting them or move.

Duplicate Files Deleter is a simple, but effective tool to locate duplicate files in one or more selected search paths. It scans the files and compares them based on Byte for Byte Comparison, which ensures 100% accuracy. You can then choose to delete the selected duplicate or original files. The program is multi-threaded and performs scans quickly.

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